Streaming Giant Partners with Fox: Founder Supports Merger with Equity Lock

On June 14, Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) and its founder, Anthony Wood, along with the Wood Family Trusts, entered into a voting and support agreement with Fox, agreeing to vote their Class A and Class B common shares in favor of the proposed merger and, under certain conditions, to restrict any sale of their holdings or support for competing acquisition proposals. The agreement includes limitations on the transfer and pledge of Wood’s shares, the termination of existing Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, and the waiver of appraisal rights, effectively locking up the founder’s stake until the merger is either consummated or terminated.

Separately, on June 4, Roku Media President Charles Collier exercised tens of thousands of stock options and sold a similar number of shares on the open market, generating approximately $2.7 million (around KRW 3.5 billion) and realizing significant gains net of exercise costs. On June 10, CEO and Chairman Anthony Wood converted 18,000 Class B shares into Class A shares and sold them all on the open market; however, through various family and pension trusts, he still holds a substantial position in both Class A and Class B shares, maintaining his economic interest while modestly reducing his supervoting control.

On June 15, Fox Corporation announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Roku in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $22 billion, or $160 per share. Equivalent to roughly KRW 29 trillion, the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Roku operates a platform business in the United States, powering a connected-TV operating system and offering ad-supported free streaming channels that facilitate TV viewing for millions of households. Streaming advertising and subscription fees have become its core revenue drivers. Fox is a U.S. media group that owns content and channel assets including Fox News, sports networks, and the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi. With this acquisition, Fox aims to emerge as a major player spanning free ad-supported streaming and TV platforms, a move likely to further intensify M&A competition in the global streaming and media industry.